Sleep apnea can raise risk of death - Los Angeles Times

Many people have sleep apnea but are unaware of it. Researchers have found that having sleep apnea increases a person's risk "for high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke and diabetes" and now they have found that is also increases the overall risk dying. It also seems to cause memory loss and difficulty concentrating and makes people more likely to get into traffic accidents.

Areas of the brain used in storing memories were smaller in people with sleep apnea. They speculate that the lack of oxygen when a person stops breathing while sleeping causes brain injury causing tissue loss in these areas.